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Wednesday, 9 October 2013

Cosmo Fashion Masterclass: 08/10/13

So on Sunday I found myself browsing through my twitter feed and I came across a competition to win 2 tickets to Cosmopolitans Fashion Masterclass. I've been lucky enough in the past to win VIP meet and greet tickets to see The Saturdays plus tickets to The Look Show so I thought what the heck, let me enter! All I had to do was send in my name and number to their email. Rather simple aye? I woke up the next day to see an email in my inbox with the words "Hi Leah,

Congratulations! You've won two tickets to Cosmo's Fashion Masterclass"..it came as a bit of a shock. I didn't expect to win at all!

First thing that came to mind was "omg what am I going to wear?"..I'm the type of girl who likes to plan outfits in advance but seeing as I had just 1 days notice, I ended up throwing on anything I could find in my wardrobe. I looked so blah dressed in my joni jeans, chunky cut boots, black vest, leather jacket with a checked shirt tied around my waist (hence why there is no OOTD). I took my lovely friend Hannah along with me as we made our way to The British Library and in towards The Conference Centre. We were greeted on arrival with a lovely glass of bubbly whilst every girl (and 1 guy) mingled with each other as we waited to head into the auditorium (they were running late unfortunately!) Considering it was a fashion masterclass, everybody looked so stylish with a few standing out for all the wrong reasons!

Now this was my first time attending a Cosmo Masterclass (I'm still upset that I missed out on the superblogging masterclass earlier this year) and I have to say it was very insightful! very, very insightful! I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. There was an inspirational talented panel of experts which included Cosmo's editor Louise Courtwho lead the Masterclass. She was joined by Laura Gravestock, Leanne Jones, Lisa Goody,Emily Fleuriotand Ian Wright.

One of the things that stood out for me was that the British jewellery designer Laura Gravestock (@LauraGravestock) started off in fashion retail, went on to do an evening course in jewellery making, then done a few internships and now she has her own collection! Like Laura explained yesterday; "You can do anything you set your mind to, regardless of what degree you've done or experience you have"

Next up on the panel was Leanne Jones(@Leannemjones82), a non-clothing buyer at River Island. She's basically responsible for all things shoes, jewellery, handbags and accessories.

Also on the panel was Lisa Goody (@LisaGoody), a senior press officer at Miss Selfridge, who had previously worked at House of Fraser.

Now my favourite expert on the panel was the down-to-earth freelance writer/editor Emily Fleuriot (@FashionPopcorn). The co-founder of Fashionpopcorn.com stood out for me the most as she was into the more editorial side of fashion and specialises in content for digital and social channels. A similar route I want to go down. Every time she spoke I was just so intrigued. Ha! She even studied at UCA which is one of the univeristies I applied to 3 years ago. Emily spoke about the importance of being able to find a story in fashion, write about it and making sure that the readers are engaged within it; "Journalism/blogging is knowing how to incorporate facts into a story and then telling that story an engaging way" She also explained the importance of technology and social media and adding layers; "It's about how tweeting, Instagram or other platforms can add value to blogging. Not just repeating the same thing". I'll definitely be taking on Emily's advice and I'll be browsing the Fashion Monitor website which she suggested for making contacts and finding jobs within the fashion and beauty industry.

Last on the panel was the laid back, humorous and handsome Ian Wright (@Ian_W_Wright), a fashion director at Industry magazine and Drapers. He explained that ""I wouldn't have got my job at ASOS without a blog"..the wonders of blogging aye! When asked about one of his highlights, Ian went on to tell us that one of his highs had to be a Marc Jacobs afterparty that he attended in America. He's definitely living life!

After the panel had given us wonderful career advice and an insight into their backgrounds, it was time for a short Q and A session. Only a few girls got to ask questions as time was getting on and we had to be ushered out of the auditorium. But luckily enough, the panel stuck around to have a quick chat with some of the audience members.

In my opinion the fashion Masterclass was mainly for those who are trying to break into the fashion industry whether it be fashion design, setting up your own label or even working in one the major fashion houses...which is not what I want to do. I'm more into the whole editorial side of fashion. I want to write. I just want to work in a magazine!

The panel even gave us CV advice, which I've been having a lot of trouble with lately. They explained "keep it simple", which we should all know by now! Believe it or not I've only just made my media CV 2 weeks ago..I went for a simple but creative look and kept it quite brief. Although I'm now going to have to make a few alterations seeing as Emily explained that "When applying for work, it's not enough to just be enthusiastic, you need to show you have skills, too"

What was truly inspirational was the genuine passion each of the panelists showed. Failure is not an option and no matter how long it takes or no matter how many crappy jobs you have to go through in order to get where you want to be, just remember...you will get there eventually!

Ill definitely be attending the Cosmo's Editors Masterclass in November where the Amazing Victoria White (Editor of Company Magazine) will be on the panel. For anyone interested in journalism, online publishing, writing or blogging then I suggest you attend this masterclass! Tickets are only £35 and you can buy them here. For more info about The Editors Masterclass click here.

Oh I forgot to mention we were given a £40 goody bag to take away with us. I think my bag was so heavy that the handle broke! Ha! But here's what was inside (my ultimate fave has got to be the Matte Me ultra smooth up lip cream)